Thursday, February 16, 2012

First Chapter Review: Honeymoons Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton


I've been trying to post one of these all week, but the stomach bug arrived at our house Sunday night and I am teaching a workshop too.


AUTHOR:  Connie Shelton

BLURB:  Charlie Parker's romantic honeymoon in Taos, New Mexico, is interrupted when a ski instructor who works for her husband is fingered for the murder of his priestly brother, and a cache of priceless artifacts turns up in her ski chalet.

COVER:  While I have to admit, this is not my favorite cover, I like that the author has been consistent since the first book's release. Each book is designed the same way: one color background, the title bordered off with a contrasting color, the author's name in bold at the top, and an eye hole with a picture in the middle--though this cover's appears to be less oval than the others. The hearts make you think love and honeymoons, so it works.

FIRST CHAPTER:  We open with Charlie and her new husband Drake in what appears to be a spot of trouble. Drake is a pilot and Charlie is preparing for her license. In addition, Charlie is part owner of RJP Investigations with her brother, Ron. With their house being renovated, Charlie and Drake are living in the RJP offices. Because of their rush wedding, they never went on a honeymoon, so they are eager to accept a friend's offer to visit Taos and provide heli-skiing tours around the holidays.

KEEP READING: You betcha! In case I've never mentioned it before, I like action to start off my books. It's part of why I am drawn so much to mysteries--usually a dead body turns up or someone's life is in danger within the first few paragraphs.

This is the sixth book in the Charlie Parker Mystery Series, but it's the first one I've read, so that added a sense of mystery to the opening. I honestly wasn't sure what was going on. Shelton smartly didn't pull me around on a string for too long, knowing I might get ticked off. Once aware of what was happening, I was able to digest a bit of back story and then be thrilled with the cliffhanger end of this short chapter. I'm eager to find out what happens next.


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 362 KB
Publisher: Secret Staircase Books (October 11, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002SG7OSU
SRP: $4.99

I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

4 comments:

Molly said...

Oooohhh!!! LOVE the synopsis! Very intriguing! Thanks for sharing the First Chapter!

Kate Dolan said...

I like how the story gets into action right away.

Cheryl said...

Thanks for the comments ladies. It sounds like a great book, so I'm going to try to make time to fit it into my schedule.

Mayra Calvani said...

I agree about the cover and have to wonder what is the author thinking, when again and again everybody talks about the importance of a good cover.